eCommerce in India – Part 3

With the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, preparing for entry into India and the market separating the strong from the weak, India’s best-known and stronger online retailers are taking the lead in the consolidation race.

…For the approximately 10 million Indian e-commerce consumers, there has been a growing choice of online stores that sell everything from books to travel experiences. But behind the scenes, e-commerce start-ups-around 40 active ones at last count-are battling price wars and high customer acquisition costs.

Leaders in the e-commerce space-ones that have raised money, have large teams and are aggressively pursuing growth-are spending $1-2 million (Rs 5-10 crore) a month, including on marketing, overheads and salaries.

Consolidation is also being hastened by the inability of smaller firms to raise money at the valuation levels they commanded even last year.